Problem
Small engineering teams lack simple, affordable tools for project tracking. Existing solutions are complex, process-heavy, and require significant setup, adding admin overhead rather than reducing it.
Overview
Designed a lightweight web app dashboard for small engineering teams to maintain project visibility with minimal setup. Scope covered the dashboard and project creation flow.
Personal Goals
Reduce setup friction. Prioritise scannable status visibility. Support flexible workflows over rigid processes.
Users
Who is it for?
Two main roles: team managers (assign, monitor, track) and team members (understand responsibilities, check status).
Primary device: desktop.
Ideas
Back to the drawing board.
Early exploration involved rapidly sketching multiple dashboard layouts before selecting a Kanban-based approach.
Solution
A visibility-first dashboard, not a full project management system.
- Board (Kanban) and Table views
- Projects grouped by status; drag-and-drop updates
- New projects default to Inbox for quick capture
- Tags, assignees, contributors, deadline visibility with overdue highlighting
- Project detail view for subtasks and notes
- Prominent "Add Project" CTA
Intentional Constraints
You can't have everything.
To maintain simplicity and reduce setup time, several features commonly found in project management software were intentionally excluded:
Complex dependencies: Projects were assumed to be largely independent. Inter-reliant tasks requires maintenance. It was deemed that the management and team can manage this themselves.
Sprint planning frameworks: Setting rigid and fixed timelines and meetings often isn’t practical in small companies where people need to remain more flexible. The product allows users to move projects between states when they need to be moved.
Design Decisions
The visual system was designed to reinforce simplicity and usability.
Green was chosen as the primary colour to reflect clarity, calmness, and growth. Neutrals derived from the primary colour were chosen to maintain visual harmony. The font Manrope was selected for readability and modern simplicity.
Outcome
Designed to be used.
The final dashboard provides a clear, low-friction overview of team projects while supporting quick project creation and lightweight management.
